Black Hornet

The military’s new eyes in the skies.

- Jeff Chaves

THE ARMY STAFF SERGEANT PEERS THROUGH HIS BINOCULARS, over the large rock to the desert floor below his position on the ridgeline. Explosions can be heard at a distance, and there’s a smoky haze in the early morning air. He motions to a junior soldier to his left. He trots forward with a small bag around his neck. “Get the PD-100 up,” the sergeant orders in a hushed tone. The specialist opens a flap in the bag and then a door that reveals the tiny helicopter. He opens another flap in the top of the bag with the unit’s control screen. With a few button presses and a toss, the single main rotor and tail rotor come alive and aircraft lifts up.

“Where to, Sarge?” the soldier asks as he controls the drone’s movements with a thumb controller that is wired to the bag.

Pointing to the valley, the sergeant directs, “We’ve got to get to the rendezvous point on the other side of the valley, but intel says the enemy is using the wadi over there.” He points to the cut in the valley floor that is shadowed in the sunrise. “Get the drone up as high as you can and come in from the east. I don’t want anybody to know we’re watching.” By now, the drone is far enough away that it can’t be heard and is barely seen.

The pair watches the screen for a few minutes as the helicopter glides along. “Wait!” the sergeant says. “Come in right there.” He points to the screen, and the specialist presses the down arrows on the thumb control. The images get closer and clearer as the drone descends.